“Abnormal Situation” Halts Russia’s Luna-25 Spacecraft En Route to Moon’s South Pole
August 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s national space agency Roskosmos announced on Saturday that an “abnormal situation” occurred onboard the Luna-25 spacecraft during its preparation to transfer to its pre-landing orbit.
Luna-25, a Russian spacecraft, is scheduled to touch down on the south pole of the moon on Monday, joining other countries in a race to explore this region believed to contain frozen water and valuable elements.
“During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” stated Roskosmos in a brief statement.
The agency is currently analyzing the situation but has not provided further details regarding the incident.
Earlier, Roskosmos reported receiving the first results from the Luna-25 mission and that they are currently being analyzed.
The agency also released images taken by the spacecraft showcasing the Zeeman crater on the moon. Roskosmos described the crater as the third deepest in the moon’s southern hemisphere, measuring 190 km (118 miles) in diameter and eight km (five miles) in depth.
Roskosmos further stated that the received data has provided valuable information about the chemical elements present in the lunar soil. This information will aid in the operation of devices designed to study the moon’s near-surface.
Additionally, Roskosmos revealed that its equipment had detected a micrometeorite impact event.
On Wednesday, the Luna-25 successfully entered the moon’s orbit, marking the first Russian spacecraft to do so since 1976.
Approximately the size of a small car, Luna-25 aims to conduct operations for a year on the moon’s south pole. NASA and other space agencies have recently discovered traces of frozen water in the lunar craters of this region.
The presence of water on the moon has significant implications for major space powers, potentially enabling extended human missions and resource mining.
Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Jane Merriman
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